Cogentrix: Solar Thermal Tech a Tough Sell, CPV Finds Takers

Cogentrix became the first developer to be offered a federal loan guarantee to build a type of solar power plant that marries features of the conventional photovoltaic technology with concentrating solar thermal, which uses mirrors to concentrate the light, heat up fluid and generate steam for electricity production. The U.S. Department of Energy announced the conditional commitment of the $90.6 million loan guarantee earlier this week, and Cogentrix expects to close that loan guarantee – along with the actual loan from the Federal Financing Bank -- in about two months, said Jef Freeman, Jr., vice president of development at Cogentrix. The company’s contractor, Mortensen Construction, already has started work at the 225-acre project site in south central Colorado, Freeman said. The goal is to complete the $140-$150 million, 30MW Alamosa Solar Generating Project by the seco...